Teacher Shuts Down First Grader’s Christmas Presentation After She Mentions ‘Jesus’ & ‘Bethlehem’

Posted by Jim Hoft on Tuesday, January 14, 2014, 5:47 PM

A California teacher shut down a first-graders’s Christmas presentation after the child mentioned “Jesus” and “Bethlehem.”CBS Local reported:

The family of a Temecula Valley first-grader claims their child was prevented from talking about the Bible during a class presentation on Christmas, according to attorneys.

The allegations stem from an incident on Dec. 18 after a teacher asked first grade students at Helen Hunt-Jackson Elementary School in Temecula to find something at home that represents a family Christmas tradition and share it with the class, according to Advocates for Faith & Freedom, a Murrieta-based nonprofit law firm.

In response to the assignment, student Brynn Williams took the “Star of Bethlehem” ornament from the top of her family’s Christmas tree “to represent her family’s tradition of remembering why Christmas is celebrated,” and worked diligently on a one-minute presentation in order to explain to the class that her family’s tradition is to remember the birth of Jesus Christ at Christmas time, attorneys said.

The following day, attorneys say Brynn began her presentation with the following statement: “Our Christmas tradition is to put a star on top of our tree. The star is named the Star of Bethlehem. The 3 kings followed the star to find baby Jesus, the Savior of the world. John…”

According to attorneys, at that point during the presentation, Brynn’s teacher said, “Stop right there! Go take your seat!” and Brynn was not allowed to finish her presentation, which included reciting a Bible verse from the Gospel of John, John 3:16.